IMPRINT INDIA and RESEARCH PROBLEMS
What is "IMPRINT India"?
It is a joint initiative by pan-IIT and IISc to develop a roadmap for research in India to solve major engineering and technology challenges in 10 technology domains.
What are the objectives of "IMPRINT India"?
- Identify areas for innovation which are of immediate relevance to society
- Direct scientific research into these identified areas
- Higher funding support for the research
- Measure the outcomes of research
What are the 10 technology domains?
IMPRINT India will focus on 10 themes each coordinated by one IIT/IISc.
- Health care - IIT Kharagpur
- Computer Science - IIT Kharagpur
- Advance Materials - IIT Kanpur
- Water Resources and River Systems - IIT Kanpur
- Sustainable Urban Design - IIT Roorkee
- Defence - IIT Madras
- Manufacturing - IIT Madras
- Nano-technology Hardware - IIT Bombay
- Environmental Science and Climate Change - IISc, Bangalore
- Energy Security - IIT Bombay
What are the challenges in higher education/research
India's Gross Enrolment Ratio is less than the global GER. Quality of teachers is poor
- Very few PhDs
- Very low level PhDs
- Good number of Indian PhDs from foreign universities do not teach in Indian universities because the UGC NET exam, which is compulsory for teaching, is seen as a barrier
- Lack of high standard laboratories, libraries etc.
- Best students from top institutions like IITs/IIMs are not opting for research in India, rather going abroad
- Most of the Universities in India still remain as mere teaching institutions without taking to application
- Competition and qualitative research among universities is poor, except for a few like JNU
- Private institutions focus more on professional/vocational courses rather than on research
- Peer reviews mechanism in research is missing in Indian universities
What needs to be done as a follow up?
- Interaction between industry and university
- Researches done by universities generally end up without implementation because of too much theoretical orientation or lack of relevance to industry requirements.
- Signing MoUs with industry is not enough. Funding and implementation should also be taken up
- Infrastructure and institution building
- Incentives to research
- Industrialists should come forward in establishing research oriented universities which can provide better salaries
- Autonomy should be given to the universities in research